


Bruce Wayne, the Court of...

by Redzik



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Canon Fix-It, DCU Big Bang, DCU Big Bang 2020, Dick was a Talon, Not Beta Read, Protective Jason Todd, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redzik/pseuds/Redzik
Summary: He was going to fix everything.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Comments: 21
Kudos: 141
Collections: DCU Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if the ending seems rushed after all this build up, but deadline came and went :/
> 
> Amazing art for the fic by Harishe: [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307612) ^^

The white lenses narrowed as the eyes covered by them kept track of the black shadow silently making it’s way toward Gotham docks.

He had a choice to make.

He could strike now and snatch Bl ü dhaven’s vigilante before Batman even realized Nightwing was there. It would certainly buy him some time, but came with it’s own problems. It would be difficult to capture Nightwing as he jumped from roof to roof without any pause between to put him down without risking of killing him. Not to mention the other party would be alerted to his presence as he had no doubt they were tracking Nightwing’s progress as well.

Or he could wait out the battle at the docks and grab the black and blue hero wh ile Batman w ould be busy chasing the culprit. With any luck Batman w ould think that Nightwing’ s disappearance meant he went back to his city. And Red Hood would get his chance to lead a dramatic car cha se through Gotham and end it with an explosion. Yeah, Red Hood sure loved to blow things up and who was he to stand in the way of that ?

His mind made up, he settled in to wait. He watched as Nightwing finally landed on a container and paused for a few seconds before joining Batman in the fight. A moment later there were small explosions and containers started flying left and right.

He smiled as Amazo went down shortly after and the original Dynamic Duo prepared for interrogation of the thugs in their custody . He watched in anticipation as Nightwing pulled the lever and the heavy body of the android fell down right where the thugs were sitting, stopping at the last second to hover above their heads. The thugs sang and they were immediately silenced with a headshots. He didn’t pity them. Red Hood demanded loyalty and his men knew better than to cross him. Maybe they were spies and Red Hood choose them especially for this mission to get rid of them and get what he wanted at the same time.

No matter. Batman zeroed in on the sniper on the other side of the bay and grappled up to the conveniently passing by Bat wing , leaving Nightwing to deal with destruction and three dead bodies.

It was time f o r him to act. He had only few minutes before the police arrived. He waited extra few seconds to make sure Batman was entirely focused on Red H ood and made his way closer.

He was trained well and he was tempted to test it on the vigilante, but he couldn’t risk him alerting anyone. Maybe he will have the opportunity again when all was said and done, but for now he had to settle for aiming a riffle at Nightwing an d taking a shot.

He had to give Red Hood credit, he was onto something with using guns. It allowed him to get his prey without them being none the wiser of the danger coming. Even trained vigilantes couldn’t sense a sniper from afar. How come none of them were gunned down before? Oh, wait, they were. And the whole Ric fiasco followed. Ugh.

He fired and watched through the scope as Nightwing hissed and pulled the dart out of his neck only to drop like a sack of potatoes in the next second. He grimaced a little at the hard fall, but it certainly beat the vigilante falling off the roof and having to catch him. He got up and packed his riffle carefully. He will need it again for sure, so he took care to not damage it. He then headed to the docks and over to the prone body.

He spared a glance at the three dead thugs and what was left of the Amazo, b ut ultimately he gave his full attention to the unconscious hero . He looked at the lone v-stripe on his chest and blue accents on the arms and grimaced. The blue fingerstripes were the best decision ever to be made about Nightwing's suit. He lightly kicked the body to make sure Nightwing was really down for the count. When nothing happened he put his bag on the ground and pulled out the rope. He tied Nigh t wing up securely and patted him down for trackers and communication. Then he left him for a moment to clean the area from any evidence of his presence and what might happened to the original Boy Wonder.

When he was satisfied not h ing immediately would tell Batman or anyone e lse that something was amiss, he collected his bag and heaved Nightwing over his shoulder.

There was an explosion in the industrial district.

He had to act fast now. Batman was done with the chase and might come looking soon. The police sirens were audible now too.

He looked for an escape route. He had a few options, but they were easily traceable once he would be spotted and there was a high risk of loosing his prize once that happened. There were also the sewers. Not an immediately suspect way of escaping and it would buy him some time, but having all that stin k clinging to him? And Nightwing? Nope. He was prepared for a lot of things, but he was drawing a line at giving Nightwing a bath.

So he did what he did best. He kept to the shadows as long as he was comfortable in the knowledge he wouldn’t be spotted and then he choose a random car to get to a place where he had other options to reach a place where he was hiding without leaving a single trace.

Once in he secured Nightwing properly. He striped him of all his weapons and tools and tied him to a chair with enough rope to mummify him and added heavy duty cuffs f or a good measure. He contemplated gagging him for a brief moment, but then decided against it. He could allow the vigilante this one freedom. Besides there was nobody around to hear him if he yelled. And if Nightwing happened to call for Superman, well. This eventuality was already taken care of.

There was still some time left before Nightwing woke up, so he decided to check on his other prey. He looked over everything again and left, closing the door behind him and engaging the security.


	2. Chapter 2

It only took him a few minutes to track Batman down. The Dark Knight was in Arkham Asylum talking to the Joker about the Red Hood. It was only logical as it was Joker’s old alias, but a total waste of time. The clown didn’t know anything and if he did he wouldn’t just confess because the Bat asked nicely. But whatever. Batman could do what he wanted.

He briefly considered taking the Joker out. It would certainly save him a lot of hassle and aid him with his own mission. However Red Hood would be pissed about him ruining his grand plan. It was his pride and joy at this time and Hood spend a lot of time polishing it to perfection. No, better to let Red Hood have his fun while he could before he would step in and ruin everything. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to keep the possibility in mind.

Speaking of Red Hood. Bored out of his mind, he decided to see what the rising criminal star was up to. It was always a pleasure to watch him work. Everyone thought Red acted crazy and rashly, did things without a reason and just because he could. But that was not true at all. His every action was planned and thought of. It was beautiful to watch as the pieces eventually fell into place. Not even Red Robin could pull off something quite like that. He was close, sure. Sometimes even better. But with Red Hood it was just breathtaking. Maybe because everyone always forgot, that Red Hood wasn’t just a brutal strength and killer weapons.

Red Hood was currently spying on Black Mask and learning about his shipment. He grinned, excited. This will be fun! He followed the young criminal to the drop point and watched in fascination as Red Hood took out all the guards. He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him as Hood bound and gagged all of them and then positioned them in a row on the edge of a pad before throwing one of their uniform over his own costume and joining them in line, pulling the hood of the jacket up. Just in time before the helicopter emerged from around the taller building and landed on the roof before the small gathering.

He wanted to stay and watch, but he realized he will have an opportunity to capture another of his preys very soon. To do so he had to get into position before Batman and Red Hood arrived at the destination. He didn’t want to risk detection now. During the fight Bat’s awareness was even higher, sharper and he could be spotted and categorized as a threat. Not only he would loose the element of surprise then, but he would have the Bat on his tail instead of the other way around.

He cast one last mourning look at the scene. Red Hood was very good and he would like to watch him run across Gotham again, but Batman was already diving off the pad after the falling helicopter. The Bat would start chasing Red Hood as soon as he would secure the wreck, so he had to hurry.

He made his way to the train station and had just a few moments to find a perfect spot that was safe from explosion and allowed him a direct access to his prey. However he didn’t have time to set up his riffle, so he would have to engage his prey in person. He grimaced as he pulled several darts from the bag. Direct contact at this time in his mission was ill advised. But everything was going fine so far, so there was no reason to think this time would be any different. Hopefully.

He tensed in anticipation as Red Hood crashed through the glass roof. The criminal rolled to his feet and quickly ducked out of the immediate line of view. He watched as Red Hood waited in his covert spot for Batman to land on the station and pushed the button once the Hood had him where he wanted. The beeping caught Bat’s attention and he dove out of the way and onto tracks for some cover as the bomb attached to the pillar exploded.

He couldn’t see briefly because of the smoke, but when it cleared Red Hood was already on his bike, talking to Batman. He pouted. He would like very much to know where Red Hood got it from in just those few seconds. He will have to ask him someday, but now he readied himself to act.

Batman jumped out of the way of the coming train in the perfect spot form him to descend on him silently. The Bat was still distracted by the Red Hood, waiting for the train to pass to see if the criminal was still there, to spot him. He struck fast, jabbing the dart into Batman’s neck and moving out of the way as he immediately lashed out in defense. Just as Nightwing, Batman dropped unconscious seconds later.

Satisfied, he repeated the drill of relieving Batman of trackers and communication devices and tying him up. He retrieved his bag to find something to bound the Dark Knight with. He made a mental note to resupply for his next hunt when he found he barely had enough rope to secure Batman for what would last just a few minutes if he was awake. He shook his head at himself. He couldn’t make mistakes like that. There was too much at stake for this mission to not to be a complete success.

He grunted as he picked Batman up. He had to be quick to make it to his hideout before the man woke up and careful in case Red Hood would loiter around to see what the Bat was up to.

Utilizing all his training, why not practice along the way, he got to his squat unhindered by anything. He dropped Batman on the floor and stretched his sore muscles. Ugh. The man weighed a ton.

Quickly, he pulled up a chair and placed the Dark Knight in it to bound him similarly as Nightwing.

He checked his work twice, before he nodded to himself for a job well done.

Now time to bring in last of his prey.


	3. Chapter 3

It was surprisingly easy to track Red Hood down. As if the criminal wanted to be followed. He paused for a moment with a frown. He was sure nobody of consequence saw him, but he couldn’t rule out a possibility that Red Hood knew about him. He certainly spend more time than he should spying on Red Hood before the time for him to act came. Maybe Hood spotted him then. But if so, then he was fairly sure he would be dead already. Unless Red had other plans for him. So, now was this an invitation or a trap?

Cautiously he peered over the edge of a rooftop. On the empty space between the buildings, which possibly acted like a parking lot for employees during the day, two tall men were dragging another one to the car. They pushed him against the side of it and very clearly threatened him. One with a gun, the second with a bottle filled with gasoline he was ready to lit over his head. Then suddenly the bottle exploded, engulfing the one who was holding it in flames. Red Hood jumped down on the hood of a car holding two pistols at the ready. The one remaining thug ran away as he saw him.

He snorted. What a wuss. And to think the man was all mighty and arrogant just a few moments ago.

Any amusement was put on the back burner as he saw four armored and armed figures facing Red Hood. He tilted his head curiously. Who were they? Not Hood’s men for sure as they moved to attack him. Maybe Black Mask send them? The drug lord would be furious with Red Hood at this point.

He watched as Hood shot at them and they deflected or avoided his bullets. They were good. But he knew Red Hood was better. But. Something was wrong. While the fight was still impressive, Red Hood was holding back for some reason, taking blows and letting them get the upper hand. The young criminal let them have him laying down and surrounded. This wasn’t right. What was Red Hood doing?

He crept closer in worry.

“Oh, the fight hasn’t started yet,” Hood said in amusement to his attackers. “I’m just stalling.”

Oh. _Oh_. Shit. Red Hood didn’t set any trap for him, he was waiting for Batman. Batman who wasn’t coming, because he left him bound and unconscious with Nightwing in his hideout. How come he didn’t know about this encounter?

No time for contemplating this failure now, he scolded himself as one of the assassins raised their weapon to deliver a killing blow to Red Hood still on his knees. He threw his modified batarang at assassin’s arm to force them to drop the weapon and jumped down near Red Hood. They were not going to have him. Not now, not ever. Anyone who would even dare to attempt of harming Red Hood would be swiftly dealt with.

“About time you- huh,” Red Hood cut himself with a curious noise.

The criminal was staring at him, he could feel his gaze on his back, but he kept his eyes on the assassins circling them. They barely twitched before he was moving, pushing them back and away from Red Hood until he caught his breath and joined the fry.

Fighting alongside this Red Hood was both familiar and different. The red helmeted man was angrier, more violent, lethal. While he tried to avoid killing the attackers despite his want for revenge for touching what was his, Red Hood didn’t care if they lived or not. Actually, he preferred them not to be. A few minutes later new four corpses joined the scorched one and he faced the barrel of Red Hood’s gun.

“New look?” the criminal commented, looking him up and down.

“You could say that,” he answered.

There was silence for a moment, when they just looked at each other.

Wow. This Red Hood was his height. It was weird not having to look up into his face.

“Not gonna comment on that?” Red Hood waved at the bodies. “No rant about moral code? Telling me I’m murderer?”

He shrugged. Bit his lip. Moved. In a blink of an eye he had the pistol aiming at him in his hand. Red Hood was already aiming his second one, before he grabbed it from him too. He jumped out of the immediate striking distance and tossed them back to Hood, stopping him in his tracks.

“Will you come with me?” he asked softly.

Red Hood snorted.

“To the Batcave? So you and Bat could lock me up? I don’t think so.”

“No,” he reached to him as Hood turned away, but didn’t actually touch. “I have a place. And you’re hurt. You don’t have to stay, but at least let me take a look at it.”

Red Hood looked at his arm where the sword barely grazed him.

“Please,” he added with the extra pathetic tone of voice that always made Hood do what he wanted.

Red Hood turned back to him and even though the helmet he just knew he was staring at him with judgment.

“What about your reputation, Wonder Boy?” Red mocked. “You want Nightwing to be seen all chummy with a known criminal?”

“I don’t care if it’s with you.”

Red Hood thought for a moment, twirling his guns absently. Finally he holstered them.

“Alright,” he said and gestured grandly in his direction. “Lead the way.”


	4. Chapter 4

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly,” Red Hood said dumbfounded by Zatanna’s revelation.

He knew Dick had a meeting with the Justice League and they tended to last longer for one reason or the other, but it was hours and he started to worry. Okay, maybe worry wasn’t entirely the right word. What could go wrong among the superheroes? Dick was perfectly safe. He was more... resentful. He had plans and Dick being late ruined them. He could still work something out in the Watchtower if pressed, but there was one problem. Dick wasn’t there.

“Did you just tell me you sent Nightwing, you know recently recovered from being turned into assassin Nightwing, to the past?”

Oh God. They sent his traumatized brother slash lover slash maybe-soon-to-be-fiance to the past. Alone. He didn’t even want to know what havoc he created there. They were still standing and having this conversation though, so it wasn’t anything bad. Yet. Or maybe they created another timeline? Fuck. He hated dimension traveling.

“His arguments were valid and almost every member agreed with him,” Zatanna replied.

“It was his idea?!”

Zatanna shrugged, unconcerned.

Fucking shit. What was Dick thinking? Sure, Dick was pretty much back to normal and Jason was far from questioning his decisions. But he was worried. Dick hardly could last half a day without clinging to Jason. What if he got confused or overwhelmed? What if something happened and he accidentally killed someone in defense? Dick would be devastated and he would be alone, without anyone to help him.

Red Hood clenched his jaw and tucked the box more firmly under his arm.

“Sent me to him,” he demanded.

Zatanna’s neutral face dropped for a smirk.

“Sure!” she chirped, throwing him a small device. “It’s calibrated to find strong clusters of magic of the signature Dick will be soaked in. So you’ll find him wherever it points to, or at least a place he spend most of his time in. Good luck!” with that she started chanting.

“Wait a minute-” Red Hood started, but the light already surrounded him, disposing him on the dirty, barely lit street a few seconds later.

Jason quickly took in his surroundings, confirming he was in Gotham. Only in his mother city the streets were that dark and dirty. He focused on the quietly beeping device.

The display helpfully directed him to his left and he followed the direction with his eyes to met a side of the building. He rolled his eyes. He pocketed his only lead for finding Dick and grappled up onto the roof. He oriented himself quickly. Not surprisingly for all those years Gotham changed very little. There were missing maybe two buildings that were in his time. And a few were still standing. He looked in the direction he was supposed to head to. Dick would want a secluded space, away from people but still close enough to the center of the city. Wherever he would choose it would be warm, or at least dry with functioning four walls and roof. It would be a pain to find if he didn’t have the device to narrow it down, because he was facing an entire district of warehouses, magazines and abandoned shops Dick would certainly holed up in. Still, he didn’t know how accurate it was, but at least he didn’t have to search an entire city. Now just to get there. He was half the city away.

He huffed in annoyance and dropped down back onto the street. He didn’t know what time he found himself in, so he didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. Which means he couldn’t travel on the rooftops. And he still had the box with him, which would make grappling harder anyway. He needed to find himself a vehicle. A few streets over he got his pick in cars on the seemingly abandoned parking lot. Most likely it was hideout of some gang or something, so Jason didn’t feel guilty for borrowing one.

He drove, drumming his fingers on the wheel anxiously. What Dick was doing? Why was he here? Why this particular time, whenever they were? He tried to come up with some plan of action, but he had too little data to think of much of anything.

The device beeped louder, signaling he was getting close to his destination. Jason looked for a place to hide the car and got the rest of the way on foot. He didn’t see or detect anyone in the area, which cemented for him Dick was squatting down here. He looked at the device and followed it’s directions until he found himself between three buildings. One warehouse and two houses, most likely hosting a temporary living quarters for the workers from outside of Gotham. Yeah, his bet was on the houses. He activated the heat vision in his helmet and got two heat signatures in one of the buildings.

Jason congratulated himself on getting it right and cautiously entered the building. He pulled his gun and made his way toward his destination. He didn’t know who could be there with Dick, or even if Dick was there at all, so he decided to play it safe. The two blips didn’t move the entire time since he started tracking them, which could be for number of reasons, but he choose to be suspicious. He climbed to the first floor and left the box hidden out of the way. Slowly he approached the door. Yeah, Dick definitely was there. He switched the vision back to normal and disarmed the alarms and locks quietly. He took a deep breath. He adjusted his grip on the gun and reached his other hand for the knob. Jason pushed his way inside, quickly sweeping the entire room.

There was table, small couch, a nook for kitchenette, a closed door on the far end of the right wall and nothing else. Well, not counting on Nightwing and Batman tied to the chairs with miles of rope and glaring at him.

What the hell?


	5. Chapter 5

Nightwing woke up slowly. His head was pounding, his mouth felt like Sahara dessert and his neck ached from the uncomfortable position he was in.

The numb feeling from his butt clued him in that he spent a while in a sitting position and additional slight breathing trouble indicated he wasn't in any of the places he knew he was safe in. He couldn't remember anything after he stayed in the docks for clean up job, so whoever got him was smart enough to get a jump on him. Or they were incredibly lucky.

He kept his breathing even as to not draw attention to himself and alert his captor or captors he was awake and tried to take stock of his situation.

He was bound to the chair. Very thoroughly. He couldn't move and the ropes were tight enough to restrict his breathing slightly. There wasn't any wriggle room and he was striped down from all his weapons and hidden gadgets.

Someone was next to him. Their steady and heavy breathing kept him on edge. He couldn't hear or sense anything else however, so he risked opening his eyes to take a look around.

He was in a room furnished with table and couch. On his right was small kitchen annex. Before him and on his left were closed doors. That was it. Nothing interesting in sight.

Beside him was Batman, similarly restrained and still unconscious.

What was Bruce doing here? Last he saw of the man the Bat was chasing Red Hood. Was it possible that the criminal was their captor? Red Hood seemed to be capable enough from what Dick heard. Still, Bruce would have a better idea of what Hood could do. If he would be willing to share. Yeah, Dick didn't think so.

For the moment they were alone so Nightwing focused on trying to get free.

It took him a long while before he managed to loose his bounds enough to move his hand by a millimeter. Disheartened, he slumped with a sigh to rest for a moment. He looked to the side to check on Batman and startled at seeing him already awake and boring his gaze into him. Dick flushed slightly in embarrassment at the wordless rebuke. He was so focused on getting free he missed Bruce waking up. What if it was an enemy sneaking up on him instead? Yeah, Dick was a total failure.

“Hi, B. Fancy seeing you here,” he chirped.

Batman’s lenses narrowed.

“Do you know who’s our host?”

Batman grunted behind his gag. Dick, well versed in Bruce’s wordless talk, took that as a ‘no, but I have some ideas’.

Dick sighed and rolled his head to loosen up his stiff neck.

“Do you think it’s Red Hood?” he asked.

Batman grunted again with different inflection. ‘Possible’.

“What’s his deal anyway?” Dick grumbled.

“Hm,” Batman looked forward.

Nightwing frowned. So Bruce had some ideas, but wasn’t willing to tell him. Typical. Fucking hypocrite. He demanded a complete honesty from others but he himself kept secrets from them all. He would have a go at the Bat right now, but it wasn’t safe. They could be monitored and recorded and it wasn’t worth it to give their adversary any ammunition against them.

“Can you move at tall?”

Batman shook his head in negative.

Dick sighed again and tipped his head back to look at the ceiling. He was going crazy. He hated being still and being trussed up and unable to move made him antsy. At least he could talk.

He looked at Batman to gauge his mood. Nope, talking was out of the question. Jesus. He will die here from boredom before anything happened. He returned to the futile attempts at freeing himself for some kind of distraction.

If it weren’t so quiet, Dick would miss the slight scrape of a lock being opened. Someone was at the door. Someone, who moved like a ghost, not making any noise. He exchanged grim look with Batman and faced forward expectantly, ready for anything.

Red Hood rushed in, taking in the whole room before he focused on them. He seemed surprised at seeing them here. So he was expecting someone else. Their captor maybe? Still.

“You!” Nightwing spat with narrowed eyes.

“Me,” Red Hood agreed, examining Dick closely.

“What!” Nightwing snapped, trying not to shift uncomfortably at the attention. Sure, Red Hood had a great body, but he was a criminal and just a few hours ago Dick witnessed him killing two people. Those kind of men usually didn’t have any good intentions with a gaze like he guessed Hood was giving him.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Red Hood asked.

Dick blinked, thrown for a loop. That sounded suspiciously like concern. Why would a criminal ask for their well being?

Wordlessly he shook his head.

Red Hood glanced at Batman and holstered his gun. He left for a moment and came back with a box he placed on the table after he closed and locked the door.

“What’s in it?” Nightwing couldn’t help but ask.

“What do you think?” Hood challenged.

Dick frowned. It could be a number of things, really. But with their situation and with who Red Hood was and his flare for dramatics, Dick had very few answers.

“A bomb.”

“Then it is a bomb,” Hood nodded sagely, but Dick had a felling he was laughing at him. “You hungry? Thirsty?”

“What?” Dick stated incredulously, thrown again at the change of topic.

“Probably thirsty,” Red Hood decided and looked into the fridge, making a curious noise at whatever he saw in there. Probably more severed heads.

Jesus, what was going on here?

Red Hood got a bottle of water from the fridge. He uncapped it, poured some water into the glass he found in the cupboard and brought it to Dick.

“You can’t be serious,” Dick stated, staring at the glass dangled in front of his face. Did the criminal really thought he was going to drink anything he gave him when he had every opportunity to spike the water?

“What are you-” Red Hood started. “Oh, right. Suit yourself,” he put the glass on the table. “It’ll be here when you want it. And there’s more if you wish. Let me know when you change your mind.”

Nightwing’s jaw dropped open, but Hood already was turning back to the kitchenette and started pulling out various utensils and products.

Batman harrumphed next to him and Dick agreed. What an infuriating man.


	6. Chapter 6

He was aware there was a new player in Gotham. He had to act slow and careful to prepare everything for his plan, be vigilant for any possibilities of Batman and his brood getting a wind of his operation before he was ready so of course he noticed the shadow following him. Whoever it was, was really good. He himself just got a few glimpses of the figure looming in the distance, but when he went to investigate, he found nothing. He was sure Batman didn’t know about them at all. The glaring lack of the Big Bad Bat on his heels was the first clue, the man not deviating from his usual patterns of patrol and case investigations was another.

He checked his sources. Nothing came up. Nobody hired a goon to take him down. Nobody saw them before.

The elusive person was intriguing mystery Jason didn’t really had time for. He put extra safety measures in his plans and added more exit routes, but overall he focused on his revenge and waited for the newcomer’s move.

What Jason didn’t expect was Nightwing jumping into the middle of the fight with assassins hired by Black Mask to take Red Hood down instead of Batman. And certainly a Nightwing that wasn’t really Nightwing. Or was he?

The man before him looked older than Nightwing Jason got a glimpse of just a few hours ago. And the suit was different. It seemed to be better armored than the thin leotard Nightwing was wearing and had blue stripes down the arms. Those were eye catching and distracting, so points to the man for the idea.

His fighting style was similar to Nightwing and Jason didn’t have any trouble with joining the fight alongside him. He even dared to admit to himself they could made a good team.

When the fight came to an end Jason didn’t waste any time to point his gun in the guy’s face. There were several possibilities to the man’s identity and Red Hood wasn’t taking any chances.

“New look?” Jason looked the man up and down. Damn. Maybe Dick would be amendable to change his suit if he asked? After he finished with his revenge. Yeah, no. Dick would be too pissed off at him to even listen to what Jason had to say.

“You could say that,” was the vague answer.

Well, the guy certainly was interesting, incredibly fast and apparently not put off by the murder as he imagined other Bats to be. Jason agreed to come with him out of curiosity and he didn’t want his deliberately shed blood go to waste. He planned to have Batman take a sample for testing, but if this Nightwing would end in the Batcave in the near future then he might take a sample to Bruce too.

He followed the man through the city. He could barely keep up with the fast and reckless way the Nightwing was jumping and swinging through the air. He lost him a few times, but always Nightwing appeared behind or next to him with a grin and rushed forward again.

Jason frowned at first, expecting some ambush or attack until he realized Nightwing was just being playful.

“Dick,” Red Hood growled as Nightwing made another pass by him. For bystanders, if there were any, it would seem he was calling the man names, but Jason wanted to test his theory.

Nightwing came to a dead stop, turning and tilting his head to look at him questioningly.

So he was Dick Grayson, Jason confirmed to himself, at least some version of him.

Nightwing didn’t say anything, only looked at him. His posture straightened and tensed gradually as the silence between them stretched until he was standing at attention, with a blank expression. That was weird.

“Are you mad?” Nightwing asked quietly.

Was Jason mad? Boy, mad didn’t even cover the anger Jason was feeling at Bat’s betrayal. But Nightwing didn’t mean his issues with Bruce, right?

“What?” Jason took a step toward Nightwing and immediately jumped back as the blue striped man flinched away hard. What the fuck? Jason knew Nightwing wouldn’t really trust him, he was a criminal after all, but until now he was all friendly and relaxed in his presence so this reaction was a surprise.

“I’m sorry, I’ m sorry,” Nightwing mumbled over and over, getting back into the previous position, back straight but looking at the ground near his feet.

“I’m not mad,” Red Hood said at a loss of what to do. Dick was acting weird, as if he expected being punished for having fun and making Red Hood angry. And apparently Red Hood was supposed to be the one delivering the punishment.

Jason knew there were other worlds out there. Different realities, where things happened differently. If this Nightwing was from the world where a Jason Todd crossed the lines he set for himself he will find a way to get there and make him pay.

Sure, having Nightwing beaten down in a fight would be great. The man certainly could use to be knocked down a peg. But in a fair fight. Okay, maybe with some dirty tricks just to make up for how ridiculously bendy Dick was. But to beat him into submission? Jason felt disgusted with his other self.

“You’re not?” Nightwing peeked at him shyly.

“No. But maybe stop trying to sneak up on me?”

“Oh,” Nightwing hunched his shoulders with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry. I’m just used to- I forgot you don’t know yet.”

Yet. So time travel then. What the hell happened for Dick to act like this? Or maybe it already happened to the Dick of this time? Jason only hoped he could stop himself from contributing to whatever it was or the aftermath.

“Don’t you heroes frown upon messing with time?”

Dick grinned at him, the sudden tension all forgotten.

“I promise it’ll be worth it, Little Wing.”

Jason paused, surprised. Nightwing knew who he was. He knew Jason killed people. And still he trusted him and beside this one situation was relaxed and, dare Jason say, happy in his presence.

“Are you alright?” Nightwing suddenly was in his space and tugged gently on his arm. “Is your wound bothering you?”

“What? No. I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s barely a scratch,” Jason very gently batted Dick’s hands away once the man reassured himself Jason wasn’t lying about seriousness of the injury. “Lead on, Dickiebird. The faster we get there, the faster I can get back to my revenge plans.”

Nightwing moved forward again, but at a slower pace, keeping close to Jason. This time however he wouldn’t shut up about how he watched Jason prepare and realized his plan and how impressed he was with Red Hood’s accomplishments in this short time.

Jason nearly missed the landing at that. Nightwing happily chattered about his criminal ways and was impressed by them. What the fuck?


	7. Chapter 7

The first thing Batman did when he woke up was to fake unconsciousness and gather as much information as he could without moving a muscle. Not for the first time he was grateful he had the lenses on his cowl down, he could take in the large portion of the room without worrying at being caught he was looking. The place was on the side of tiny, more for someone to have roof over their head for sleep and to prepare and eat meals than to live in indefinitely. So somewhere where there were needed workers at hand, big and far enough area from the city to justify building the temporary living quarters. The warehouse district. If he was still in Gotham. But he didn’t think it was likely for Red Hood to take him out of the city. Red Hood wanted his attention and his focus was on Gotham criminal underground, still in a delicate enough situation not to risk leaving it unattended.

Encouraged by the seemingly empty room he chanced to take a better look at his surroundings. Nobody was here besides Nightwing. A lengthy glance assured Bruce the boy was fine if a bit restless. Dick always had a problem with sitting still and being bound and unable to move wouldn’t help matters. At least he wasn’t gagged like Bruce.

He finished the assessment of the situation and looked back at Nightwing. Dick still didn’t notice he was awake. He glared, trying to convey his displeasure with his gaze alone. He didn’t want to make any noise, not knowing if anyone was in the adjacent room or if there was any surveillance.

After a few minutes Dick finally looked at him and Bruce was satisfied with how the boy understood his mistake. He was even more pleased when Nightwing decided against the chatter and remained silent until someone came in. That someone turned out to be Red Hood as Bruce guessed.

He didn’t like how Red Hood focused on Dick. At least his son had the sense to refuse the water. But was the criminal planning to torture them like that? Pretend to be nice, put drinks and food before them and wait until they caved? It didn’t fit with the man’s profile. Was it some impostor? Or this was the real Red Hood and the man Batman was chasing earlier was a decoy. Bruce didn’t have enough data, so for now he could only wait and observe.

Time went by. Red Hood asked Dick about his preference for the way the meal should be prepared as if they were just meeting for a friendly dinner. Dick himself was uncomfortable and confused at the attention and Bruce feared if the shove finally came, Nightwing would fold all too easily. He should have made more of an effort to talk to him, to express his interest in Dick’s life and drag him home more often. Letting Dick isolate himself in Blüdhaven made him weak and easy to manipulate. That was unacceptable. Bruce couldn’t have that interfering with his Mission. When the current situation would be resolved he would make sure Dick stays home and train harder.

There were voices outside of the room. Red Hood abandoned his cooking and pulled out a gun, aiming it at the door. Whoever was on the other side of the door cut off abruptly. There was a moment of silence ant then the door opened slowly just enough for a head with a dark mop of hair to peek in.

Batman frowned. Was that Nightwing?

Red Hood huffed and holstered his pistol as the door opened wider and Nightwing strode in with another Red Hood in tow.

Dick took a startled breath next to him. Right. Nightwing wouldn’t have any experience with doppelgangers. Reading the reports was totally different from having to come face to face with the other self.

“Red Hood!” the Nightwing with stripes to his fingertips rushed at the criminal at the kitchen and, to the shock of everyone, threw himself into his waiting arms.

“Dickie,” Red Hood said and Bruce went cold.

Red Hood knew who Nightwing was. And if he knew who Nightwing was then he easily could deduce the secret identity of Batman and Robin.

“What is it?” just as suddenly as he rushed at Red Hood, Nightwing was by the table poking at the box.

“A present,” the criminal replied without missing a beat.

“For me?” Nightwing lit up as if Christmas came early.

“For you,” Red Hood confirmed. “Ah-ah,” he waggled a finger when Nightwing made a grab for the box. “Not yet.”

Nightwing pouted. Waited a bit.

“Now?”

“No,” Hood huffed out a laugh. “Not any time soon yet.”

“But Red!” Nightwing whined going back to the man to claw at him in mock desperation.

Batman cataloged how Red Hood responded to this new Nightwing. He was careful, gentle and considerate. He cradled his face, providing the touch Nightwing obviously needed, but didn’t hinder his movements or tried to stop him. They were talking quietly between themselves, too quiet for him to make out what about. He caught Dick looking at them with longing and he cringed. Maybe he should start looking into appropriate candidates to sate Dick’s needs for a while. For him to get it out of his system and get back on track with the Mission. Dick was looking at the second Red Hood now, obviously considering if he could get at least half the affection the other two displayed and finding it possible. Oh, God, why of all the people in the universe it had to be the criminal?

The second Red Hood clearly had enough the mushy feelings as well, because he cleared his throat.

“Dick?”

The fingerstriped Nightwing immediately focused on the Hood that spoke and at once strode into the other room only to come back after a moment with a med kit.

“Sit,” he ordered and proceed to fix Hood’s bloody arm.

Meantime the Red Hood turned back to the kitchenette and turned the heat off. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited until Nightwing was done.

“So, Dickie, want to tell me why you’re here?”

“I’m going to fix everything.”

Fix? Bruce had a horrible feeling he knew where it was going. Time travel. He made a protesting noise. Time travel was dangerous and nobody should mess around with it.

Something breezed near his face and embedded into the wall behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a handle of the thin knife.

“Shut up,” Nightwing snarled.

“Hey!” Dick protested indignantly on Bruce’s behalf.

“Dickie, Sweetheart,” Red Hood pulled Nightwing’s attention back to himself. “Fix how? By killing him?”

Nightwing smiled with all his teeth, which made him look unhinged and very dangerous. Bruce cringed internally as the malicious intent focused on him. He saw Nightwing draw another knife as he stalked to him slowly, softly, like a predator ready to jump on it’s unsuspecting prey. He saw a speck of gold in his eyes as he neared him. He recognized the markings on the knife. He sucked in a breath.

Court of Owls. This Dick was a Talon. No wonder he was so chummy with Red Hood. They were a pair of murderers and obviously they teamed up. They came from the future to kill all the obstacles in their way. Starting from Batman. From him.

He vaguely was aware of Dick pleading with them for his life, but Bruce only had eyes for the Dick Grayson looming over him. He felt the knife slid under his chin.

“Bruce Wayne,” the fingerstriped Nightwing intoned in a voice that send shivers down Bruce’s spine, “The Court of Batfamily sentenced you to a therapy.”

That was it. That was the end… Wait, what!?


	8. Chapter 8

Tim didn’t think much about the message calling him back to Gotham. Not until he arrived at the Manor and met confused at his presence Alfred and Bruce. The message didn’t come from them and it’s analysis showed it was sent straight from the Batcave.

Bruce combed through the security, but found nothing. However the system check showed a small, insignificant glitch, that caused the pre-set message to be sent. Bruce fixed it, found the source and fixed it too and then went back to his hunt for Red Hood.

Tim however got curious. The timing of the message bothered him. Not even half an hour later he stepped into the Cave they got a call that Red Hood attacked the Titan’s Tower looking for Robin. The criminal got the team beat, but when he learned Robin was back in Gotham he just left leaving the Teen Titans confused. Batman ordered them off the chase and to resume their usual duties.

Tim wasn’t that lucky. Bruce barred him from returning to the Tower and benched him until Red Hood was dealt with.

It wasn’t fair, but Tim now had a mystery to solve and all the time he would need to do it.

Whoever sent him that message knew Red Hood was coming for him, so he could assume it was an ally or at the very least someone who didn’t want Red Hood’s plan to succeed.

But scouring through hours upon hours of surveillance footage didn’t shed any light upon the mystery person’s identity. Tim didn’t even gather much about Red Hood himself. The criminal was good at avoiding getting caught on cameras when he specifically didn’t want to be.

Tim started to doubt about his theory of there being another person. Maybe he indeed was too paranoid and the glitch was just a lucky coincidence. But he already was too involved in investigating Red Hood despite Batman’s wishes. He needed more information and he wouldn’t get it without going out.

Tim’s attempt at sneaking out was thwarted by Alfred. With a sour expression Tim sulked before the Batcomputer. The butler was good. Better than Tim expected. He knew every way a Robin could sneak out to go to the city. Duh! Tim mentally facepalmed. Alfred had experience with Dick and Jason before he came along, so of course the butler was prepared. Tim just had to be smarter.

In the meantime he tapped into comms. Just to be on top of the situation, in case Batman happened to investigate Red Hood, he wasn’t spying on his family. Not at all.

It turned out it was good he was watching over them as suddenly Nightwing went quiet. His comm, his trackers. Nothing. Tim tried to find whatever he could near his latest location. Maybe it was the gear that failed and his brother was fine. Then Batman went silent as well. Right after they encountered Red Hood.

But what Tim could do against such a dangerous man himself when even Batman and Nightwing fell into his clutches? He didn’t have any other choice, however. Tim make sure to divert Alfred’s attention and slipped from the ‘Cave.

Getting into the city was the easy part. Finding Red Hood was even easier as he just stumbled into the man as he was checking whatever he was holding in his hand. Tim crouched low and waited. Soon enough Hood moved, but not in the direction Tim expected him to. He was ready to follow Red Hood through the rooftops to his hideout in the hopes on finding the missing family members, or at least some clue about their whereabouts. But no, Hood descended down to the streets and stole a car. That complicated things. While Tim could follow him for the most part of the city on foot, he quickly lost sight of him when the buildings got lower and good grappling points further away from each other. Tim paused, considering. He head general direction Red Hood was heading to, if it wasn’t a ploy to shake any tail he could have had. Or maybe he was already at his target location but Tim didn’t see him stop.

With no choice, Tim doubled back to the place he last seen Hood’s vehicle and started checking the area for the criminal. He was on the verge of giving up and moving forward onto another section, when he saw movement. He ducked down and observed as Nightwing and Red Hood raced themselves, jumping from roof to roof. Tim frowned. Nightwing was surprisingly chummy with the criminal. Was he manipulated? Threatened? Mind controlled? And where they came from? Red Hood was heading in the direction they were heading now. Maybe Hood noticed Nightwing following him and set up a trap? Caught Nightwing and forced him to come with him?

Too many questions and not enough data to answer them.

Tim followed the duo much easier now, but they still were too fast for him to keep up. But it didn’t worry him much now. They were moving toward warehouse district and even if Tim lost them, he could find them eventually in a relatively short amount of time. He refused to think about what could happen in that time he was searching.

Finally Tim reached the place he last saw Nightwing and Red Hood in and looked around, there was a handful of buildings they could go into. Now he just had to find the right one.

He checked five warehouses and two hotels before he heard voices. He crept closer to the building they were coming from. He quickly located the source. No way in through the tiny window. He had to find another way. He quietly slipped inside and looked for vents. It was the best chance for him to get near enough and avoid any traps and sentries.

Tim crawled quietly until he reached the crate he could see through into the room. Batman was bound and gagged. Nightwing was bound next to him. There were two Red Hoods on the opposite of the room. One was standing near the wall well away from all of them, the other was standing near what appeared to be kitchen, hugging another Nightwing?

Tim frowned and shifted slightly. Something caught and banged lightly on the wall of the vent, making a quiet, dull sound. Tim cursed softly and curled to see what piece of equipment was determined to gave him away. When he looked back to the room, he was faced with Nightwing and his blue striped arm reaching for him. He fought, of course he fought, but he didn’t have much space and Nightwing’s grip was like steel on him as he pulled him out.


	9. Chapter 9

“Dick” Jason facepalmed into his helmet. “What the actual fuck?”

Dick had many ridiculous ideas lately, but this took the cake.  And was far more dangerous.

“He needs to answer for his crimes,” his Nightwing replied, still keeping the Bat at a knife point.

“He did,” Jason pointed out. “He’s in jail.”

“Not good enough,” Dick snarled. “He hurt you, kept hurting you. I won’t allow it.”

Oh Dickie… Jason swallowed. Dick was way overprotective of Jason since he retrieved him from the Court. The months spend on helping him feel human again, not to mention be Dick Grayson again only cemented that fact.  Sure, Dick was overprotective of his siblings as well, but with Jason it ran deeper,  h ad more meaning.  For Dick it was a  declaration of love and undying loyalty.  And Dick choose him. Jason was assured of that after many conversations about consent and free will.

“I want to make it better for you,” Dick looked at him desperately for a moment before he resumed the staring down on Batman. “Prevent him from ever becoming that cold stone asshole we have to deal with.”

“That’s nice, but you know he will weasel his way out of it as soon as he can, right?”

“He won’t,” Dick paced away from the Bat and Jason breathed a little easier. He knew Dick wouldn’t kill him, but that knife was a little too close for an easy slip on accident. “Justice League won’t allow it and he,” here Dick pointed at Nightwing who was watching the scene unfold with wide eyes, “will make sure of that.”

“What?” Nightwing croaked.

“Yeah, how did you manage that?” Jason asked at the same time.

Dick answered him first. Jason always came first for him now.

“I told our Justice League everything and they agreed something had to be done. Short of killing him, and Wonder Woman was ready to go down to Gotham and run her sword through Bruce _repeatedly_ , there was only one solution, jail. But that wasn’t enough. When I laid out my plan they decided to help me. They recorded messages for this League and made it easier for me to assure their cooperation in this time.”

“They agreed just like that?”

“Most of them watched all of us grow up. Half of them are our aunts and uncles. Of course they agreed.”

Damn. Having Dick by his side was enough. The tentative support and affection from his other siblings was expected as well. But the Justice League  t aking their side  over Batman’s? It blew Jason’s mind.

Dick smiled warmly, sadly.

“We’re not alone as we think. We’re not alone as _he_ made us think.”

Batman made a protesting sound and got another knife thrown at him for his trouble. Jason titled his head  considerately , out of the corner of his eye he saw other Red Hood do the same. Where Dick kept all thos e knives hidden on his outfit?

“You!” Dick turned to Nightwing who flinched at the sudden attention. Jason had to stop himself from pulling Dick back to ease Nightwing’s worry. It wasn’t like Dick would hurt his younger self.

“You have the support of the entire Justice League to make sure he,” Dick waved at Batman, “won’’t repeat his mistakes. That he won’t abuse our trust and love. You have to make sure he won’t hurt Red Hood, isolate him, banish him from his home, traumatize him further with taking him to Ethiopia, beat him into the ground and leave him for dead. You have to make sure he won’t belittle Tim and what he had done to him, that he won’t hurt him and beat him as well.”

“What the fuck?” Nightwing whispered in horror.

“You have to make sure he won’t completely ignore Damian and his issues. You have to make sure he won’t kill Alfred and make his son take the blame for it, while he’s off on a vacation with Catwoman!”

Nightwing was properly horrified an appalled by what he heard. And bravo for Dick to call on his big brother instincts to protect the younger siblings.  He just left out one person in all of this and he won’t stand for it.  If Dick could burden his younger version with this job, then Jason as hell will do the same. He turned to younger Red Hood  who already stood at attention. Good. So he also noticed how Di c k left out hims el f from this.

“You will make sure Bruce won’t abuse him anymore.”

“That’s not- I’m not-” Nightwing tripped over his words.

“Nobody will hurt you anymore, Dickie,” younger Red Hood said firmly, which shut Nightwing right up in awe.

“That’s nice and all, but we can’t be sure the changes will affect us,” Jason pointed out quietly. Most likely they just created another timeline.

Dick hugged him and sighed.

“Maybe not, but at least they will have a better future.”

Suddenly he perked up with a smile.

“Dick, what-”

But Dick was already on the other side of the room and pulling something out of the vent. It was red, green and yellow and was struggling to get free against the steel like grip Dick had on him. The Replacement. Of course. How Jason could have hoped to avoid getting the kid involved?

Dick deposited Robin in front of him proudly.

Jason look ed down, and down AND DOWN  to meet the glare aimed at him.

“Fuck, you’re tiny,” he blurted and looked at Dick. “He’s even smaller than Demon Spawn!”

“I know,” Dick cooed. “He’s adorable! Tiny Tim!”

“I’m not tiny!” the small Robin squeaked out. It was apparently too much cute for Dick, because he picked the kid right back up and squeezed him to death as he gushed about his adorableness. 

An idea crossed his mind. Dick was in a good mood now that the mission was accomplished and had someone who soaked his attention as a sponge.  Not that the kid didn’t need it. He just thought that Tim had more of a self-preservation than that,  what  with him following Batman and Robin unnoticed since his early  teen  years.

“Stop squeezing him so tight,” Jason chuckled, discreetly sweeping a device from Robin’s belt. It sent a signal straight to Alfred. Batman didn’t know about it, and if he did he didn’t mention it. It was made especially for the situations when Robin got himself into embarrassing situations he didn’t want Bruce to know about. It started with Dick, came to Jason and he didn’t doubt it continued onto Tim. He wasn’t sure if Damian had one, but it was unlikely he used it anyway. The Brat was too proud.

Now he just had to wait while the rest conversed and argued about such a tiny thing fighting crime.


	10. Chapter 10

When Alfred picked up a specially designed distress call and came all the way to the address in the abandoned warehouse district, he didn’t expect this. This being Nightwing throwing himself at him, shouting his name with pure joy and crushing him in a tight hug, clinging desperately. Red Hood followed, slower and more careful, but he griped Alfred just as tight with a quiet ‘Hey, Alfie’.

Alfred didn’t even have the time to process this when he was bombarded with more unusual things when Nightwing whispered that they miss him. Why? This level of display of affection didn’t warrant the few weeks of separation since the last time Master Dick visited the manor, no matter how affectionate the boy was. And Alfred didn’t get acquainted with Red Hood at all yet. But Nightwing’s voice sounded wet and he was shaking slightly against him. That and the Red Hood shifting slightly to lean protectively against Nightwing clued Alfred in that Nightwing was crying.

Letting him have a moment to compose himself, Alfred looked over his assailants shoulders to the rest of the room.

Batman, bound and gagged, was glaring at the two limpets clinging to Alfred.

Nightwing bound next to him looked like he didn’t know whether to pry those limpets away from Alfred or joining the hug himself.

Young Master Tim sat on the couch, clearly wanting to be out of the way but still fascinated with what was going on and wanting to be in the center of things. He peeked with awe at one Red Hood or the other every few seconds.

And Red Hood himself looked rather uncomfortable and, dare he say, a little wistful as he glanced at them. Yeah, Master Bruce’s assumptions seemed to be correct. Oh dear God.

So at the moment there were two Nightwings and two Red Hoods and they weren’t killing each other, so it was safe to assume nothing bad was going to happen right now. It wasn’t the most bizarre thing Alfred had seen since Master Bruce decided to dress as a flying rodent, so Alfred decided to take it in stride. First things first though.

He gently extracted himself from his grandsons and slowly, calmly walked to the Red Hood standing against the wall. The criminal straightened and tensed, backing further into the wall. Alfred gently put his hands on his shoulders, looking at the expressionless lenses in the red helmet.

“Master Red Hood, it’s good to see you again.”

Red Hood made a choked noise and Alfred drew him into his arms. Red Hood allowed it, hesitantly returning the hug.

“What?” Alfred heard Master Dick mutter in confusion only to be drowned by a joyous shout from his double.

“Group hug!” Nightwing exclaimed and dragged Robin from the couch over to them.

In his enthusiasm he barreled into them too hard and Red Hood grunted as he was smashed into the wall from the force of three persons leaning on him.

“Oops,” Nightwing laughed, leaning closer. “Are you okay?”

Red Hood grunted again.

“I, however, am not,” Alfred declared. He was definitely too old to have two persons hanging off of him.

“Sorry, Alfred,” Nightwing immediately pulled back.

Robin stayed put and hesitantly reached to touch Red Hood and beamed in happiness as the criminal patted hie head twice in long suffering defeat.

“Right,” the other Red Hood cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. He picked up the box from the table.

Alfred noticed the other Nightwing giving him his full attention, vibrating with anticipation. Whatever was in that box Master Dick was eager to get it.

“This seems like a perfect time as any,” the other Red Hood shrugged, coming closer to his Nightwing. “There’s no Demon Spawn and the girls, but it is a step up from what I had planned earlier anyway.”

Nightwing wordlessly tilted his head in confusion.

“So yeah,” Red Hood dropped to one knee.

Nightwing froze with his eyes wide and jaw dropped open. Younger Nightwing was in a similar state as was current Robin and Batman. Red Hood’s reaction was hard to tell with the helmet on.

Alfred was stoic as ever. He even discreetly pulled out his phone and started recording. Finally someone in the family went a step further than dating! There was hope for grand grand children yet.

“Richard John Grayson,” the kneeling Red Hood began, resisting the urge to clear his throat.

Master Dick gasped.

“Robin. Boy Wonder,” the Red Hood continued. “Nightwing. Renegade. Batman. Agent 37,” he paused for a second.

Alfred wondered just how many personas Master Dick had.

“Ric Grayson,” Red Hood ducked with a chuckle to avoid a knife thrown at him.

Nightwing huffed in aggravation. Apparently neither of them liked this name.

“Gray Son of Gotham,” Red Hood continued. “You have so many identities and I love them all. Okay, maybe not the Agent, I’m still mad at him,” Red Hood ducked again to escape the swipe at his head, “The point is I love you. All of you. The good, the bad and the weird. I want you. Forever. Will you marry me?”

Nightwing held himself still for a few long seconds. Red Hood waited patiently with baited breath, letting him mull over what he just heard and was asked of him.

Then Nightwing was dropping to his knees before Red Hood and gripping his free hand between his own hands.

“Jason Peter Todd,” Nightwing said.

Alfred felt himself tear up. Not only from the beautiful scene, he now had a confirmation that Red Hood was indeed Master Jason returned to them from dead.

Batman looked grim, as if his hypothesis was proven right and he wasn’t happy about it.

Younger Nightwing choked, awe and desperate hope gluing his eyes to one Red Hood then the other.

Robin nodded to himself.

“Robin,” kneeling Nightwing continued. “Little Wing. Boy Wonder. Jaybird. Demon Head. Red Hood. Red Robin. Nightwing. Batman. I love you too. Forever and beyond. Of course I’ll marry you.”

“Great!” Red Hood cheered and opened the box.

Everyone leaned in to see what was in it. A Nightwing costume. With a stripe across the chest like the one the other Nightwing was currently wearing, but in red. Red Hood’s red.

“If you want a ring I can give it to you later, but I thought you would like it better,” Red Hood tilted the box slightly so Nightwing could see what was inside better.

Nightwing reached out slowly, reverently. He gently traced the V-line across the material.

“I know you complained that Bruce added too much armor to your suit recently so your movement was restricted,” Red Hood explained as Nightwing pulled the costume out of the box. “I made you a lighter version. For light fighting only, mind you, in the heavy battle I still expect to see you in the armored one. Roy even added extra insulation, so you wouldn’t get cold anymore.”

“It’s perfect!” Nightwing said. “Thank you! Now, take this damn helmet off so I can kiss you!”

Red Hood chuckled and complied.


	11. Chapter 11

Once the excitement died down Dick went to change into his new uniform. It was strange seeing him in red, but also so right. Dick constantly stroked the red stripes in awe, as if he couldn't believe whey were real. Jason himself could hardly believe it was real, that Dick agreed to be his. He couldn’t stop touching and nuzzling him in his happiness. He couldn’t wait until they got home and he could really appreciate Dick in all his glory.

For now he had to settle for hugs and soft kisses as they spread out in the tiny room to have awkward dinner.

Nightwing and Batman were released from their bounds. Of course Bruce tried to take charge of the situation at once, but was quickly overrode by Alfred. Yeah, everyone present knew who was in the real charge here. Things got discussed, matters agreed to, promises made. And it was time to go.

He approached Alfred while Dick said his goodbyes and final warnings.

“Hey, Alfie.”

“Master Jason,” the butler returned warmly.

“Can I get a copy of the video?”

“Of course!”

“Thanks, Alfred! You’re the best!” Jason smiled happily as he carefully saved the downloaded film. He hugged the man tightly. “Thank you for everything. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Mater Jason.”

Jason stood aside while Dick had his last conversation with the butler, their grandfather. He accepted him when Dick slid into his arms and hooked his hands behind his head.

“Ready to come home?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Dick smiled at him, content and happy.

Jason blinked.

“Hey, wait. How are we supposed to get home anyway?”

Dick grinned mischievously. He tapped his soles twice.

“Take us back home.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Jason groaned as they were surrounded by blinding light and whisked away back to the future.


	12. Bloopers and deleted scenes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some fun :)

Dick blinks at two Red Hoods standing next to each other. One almost entire head taller and with more muscle mass, yet leaner at the same time.

“Wow. I knew you grew up, but I didn’t realize how much you grew up.”

...

“Oh, hey, it’s a bomb!” Dick cried as he threw the box open.

BOOM

...

The knife embedded itself in the center of Batman’s forehead, killing him instantly. Nightwing gasped in horror.

“What the hell, Dick?!” Jason yelled.

“Oops.”

...

“Batman , the Court of Justice League sentenced you for therapy.”

“Nope.”

“Yeah...”

...

Somewhere in limbo or hell or wherever they go after killing themselves and their younger versions:

“Dick, don’t open the b-”

BOOM

...

“You’ll be banned from the cowl until your therapist says you’re safe to be back in it. In the meantime Superman, Nightwing or even Red Hood will be Batman.”

“Me?” younger Red Hood asked with a finger pointed at his own helmet for emphasis.

“Yes!”

Red Hood was silent for a moment.

“Can I keep guns?”

...

Tim took the glass and downed it in one go. What? He was thirsty. Everyone looked at him in various degrees of alarm.

“Robin!” Nightwing wailed while Batman tried to free himself frantically.

Tim looked into the glass, then at Red Hood and other Nightwing.

“Oops,” he swayed sightly, put the glass down heavily and slumped on the couch. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Nooo!”

“Just kidding,” he grinned.

...

“Since we’re here fixing things,” Jason shrugged. “What are you going to do with Blüdhaven?”

“Blüdhaven?” Dick blinked at him in confusion.

“You know, the bomb?”

“Bomb?!” Nightwing shouted in alarm.

“Oh!” Dick exclaimed and pulled a phone out. “Superman? It’s me. The other me. Yeah. I might forgot the little detail of a chemical bomb being fired at Blüdhaven right about now. Can you- Great! Thanks!”

...

“A present!”

“It’s not for you!” Jason cried desperately.

Dick paused. There was collective sigh of relief.

“It’s for Bruce,” Jason added. The rest nodded emphatically.

“Oh,” Dick pouted, but he perked up right back. “Bruce wouldn’t mind!”

BOOM

...

Jason fiddled with the box. He wanted to do it anyway, but with a recent revelations he didn’t have any lingering doubts if it was good idea. The possibility of rejection was still there, but he didn’t fear it anymore. He knew Dick loved him, and even if he didn’t want it or wasn’t ready, it wouldn’t change anything between.

Jason looked around the room. It was a perfect opportunity. Certainly a step up from what he planned earlier. Bruce was there, at least the version that still cared, anyway. Replacement was also present, so was Alfred. Not to mention his and Dick’s younger versions. All Dick’s closest family was here. Okay. The Demon Spawn and the girls weren’t, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

He took a deep breath.

“Hey, Dick,” he called and his Dick immediately turned to him.

Having a complete focus of his intended person Jason dropped to one knee.

“Richard John Grayson,” he began, resisting the urge to clear his throat.

Dick froze with his eyes wide and jaw dropped open. Younger Nightwing was in a similar state as was current Robin and Batman. Red Hood’s reaction was hard to tell with the helmet on. Alfred was stoic as ever.

“Robin. Boy Wonder,” Jason continued. “Discowing. Nightwing. Renegade. Batman. Agent 37,” ha paused for a second. “Ric Grayson,” Jason ducked with a chuckle to avoid a knife thrown at him.

Dick huffed in aggravation. Neither of them liked that period in Dick’s life.

“Gray Son of Gotham. You have so many identities, but I love them all. Okay, maybe not the Agent, I’m still mad at him,” Jason ducked again to escape the swipe at his head, “The point is I love you. All of you. The good, the bad and the weird. I want you. Forever. Will you marry me?”

Dick held himself still for a few long seconds. Jason waited with baited breath, letting him mull over what he just heard and was asked of him.

Then Dick was dropping to his knees before Jason and gripping his free hand between his own hands.

“Jason Peter Todd. Robin. Little Wing. Boy Wonder. Jaybird. Demon Head. Red Hood. Red Robin. Nightwing. Batman. Dildo Hood. I love you too. Forever and beyond. Of course I’ll marry you.”

“Great!” Jason cheered and opened the box. “If you want a ring I can give it to you later. But I thought you would like it better.” He tilted the box slightly so Dick could see what was inside.

Dick reached out slowly, reverently. He gently traced the V-line across the material, in the exact replica of his own Nightwing costume but in red. Red Hood’s red.

“I know you complained that Bruce added too much armor to your suit recently so your movement was restricted. I made you a lighter version. For light fighting only, mind you, in the heavy battle I still expect to see you in the armored one. Roy even added extra insulation, so you won’t get cold anymore.”

...

“He can’t do worse than taking me back to Ethopia again,” Red Hood shrugged and saw Dick become unnaturally still.

“He. Did. WHAT?!” Dick ground through gritted teeth.

“Shit,” Red Hood’s eyes widened. How Dick still didn’t know about that?! “Dickie, put those knives down. Please?” There was a wet squelch and Nightwing screamed behind his gag. Dammit! He should have stopped him. But now he had an answer to one of his questions. “Well, at least we’re still here.”

...

(I’m currently in the mind of ‘Talia is a good mother,’ so here)

“ Yeah, about that,” Jason drawled carefully. How come he didn’t thought about this one before? “What will happen with Damian now?”

“Oh, he’s staying with us,” was Dick’s flippant reply.

Jason raised an eyebrow. Dick loved that kid to the death, how come he didn’t agonized over keeping the Demon with them?

“It’s not that simple,” he said. “Talia-”

“Talia agreed to Damian staying with us.”

“What? How- When did you even had the time to speak with her?”

“She came to Gotham when Bruce was arrested…”

“ _What brings you here, Grayson?” Talia asked as soon as he dropped onto the floor. She didn’t go immediately for her weapons, but she was ready for an attack._

“ _I wanted to talk to you about Damian,” Dick answered and after a small pause he added softly. “And I wanted to tell you I’m sorry Bruce isn’t the man we all thought he was.”_

“ _Yeah,” Talia scoffed, but she relaxed her battle stance. “Time changes people._ _Or he had all of us fooled f_ _ro_ _m the very beginning._ _”_

“ _We’ll probably never know,” Dick agreed. “We would like for Damian to stay with us.”_

“ _Stay with you, you mean,” Talia raised her eyebrow at him in amusement, but then she immediately sobered. “Out of the question. You barely can look after yourself after your run in with the Court._ _If it wasn’t for Jason you now would be_ _full_ _Talon and_ _would_ _probably murder them all.”_

“ _How do you know?”_

“ _I keep tabs.”_

“ _Okay, but_ _I think Damian would like to stay with us, too.”_

“ _That’s nice, but it’s too dangerous for him to stay in Gotham.”_

“ _It’s too dangerous for him to stay with you too.”_

“ _I’ll think of something.”_

_Dick sighed._

“ _Don’t make me fight you, Talia.”_

“ _That’s the only way to make a point.”_

_Dick sighed again and slowly, telegraphing his moves, he walked closer and took her hand._

“ _Don’t you think there was enough violence already?” he asked curling his fingers around hers and gently pressing her thumb against their joined hands._

“You challenged Talia to thumb war?!”

“Well, she agreed Damian should stay with us, so it worked. On the condition you’ll help.” And if Talia smiled a real, carefree smile at his antics after she won, that was only between him and her.

“ You-” Jason sputtered. “You want to raise your Demon Spawn with me?!”

...

Fade to black.

BOOM.


End file.
